Embodiments of the invention relate generally to information processing on a computer network and, more particularly, to methods and systems for storing and using configuration data for multiple environments in a corporate wide area network.
Embodiments of the invention described herein are suitable for use with the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework developed by Microsoft Corporation has two main elements: a virtual machine called the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and the Base Class Libraries (BCL). When a program is developed for .NET in a high level language such as C# or VB.NET, the compiler generates Intermediate Language (IL) which is similar to assembly language code. The CLR then takes the code in IL form and converts it to machine code that it executes. The code that is generated is called managed code. The CLR controls all aspects of allocating memory and lifetime of objects. The BCL is a set of classes and functions that enable the programmer to talk to the operating system and to other technologies, such as XML, ASP.NET and ADO.NET.BCL and eliminates the need to code to the WIN32 application programming interface (API) directly.
The .NET Framework classes (system classes) provide core functionality when building ASP.NET applications. The system classes live within assemblies. The .NET assembly represents the executable file that holds the class. There are two types of assemblies in .NET—private and shared. Private assemblies can be used in a single application and are typically located in an application's bin folder. Shared assemblies can be used across applications and must be loaded into the global assembly cache by the assembly's creator. The .NET system classes are all shared assemblies. The .NET classes are organized logically into hierarchies called namespaces. A namespace is a language feature that appends a prefix to every class name to make the class name unique. Namespaces can be nested several levels deep within the hierarchy.
The .NET classes contain static and instance members. Static (shared) members are shared across all instances of a class; instance members work on a specific instance of an object which means the object instance has to be created before an instance member can be used. Members are the properties, methods, fields, events and constructors that make up a class. A property is an attribute of a class. A method is an action that the class knows how to perform. A field is similar to a property. An event represents something to which a reaction can be made. A constructor is a special type of method that is called when a new object is created.
Remoting enables software components to interact across application domains. The components interacting with each other can be in different processes and systems. This enables programmers to create n-tier distributed applications. Microsoft Corporation's .NET Remoting is an enabler for application communication. The .NET objects are exposed to remote processes, thus allowing interprocess communication. The applications can be located on the same computer, different computers on the same network, or even computers across separate networks. Remote objects are accessed through channels. Channels physically transport the messages to and from remote objects. There are two existing channels: TCP channel and HTTP channel, using the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), respectively.